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BMW M5 manual mess-up

By Chris chilton Motor Industry 27 January 2007 01:34 North American customers were delighted when BMW bowed to their demands for a full three-pedal manual version of the current V10 M5 super saloon, but aren’t quiet so enamoured with the finished product. The issue is not with the gearbox itself – BMW successfully replaced the European model’s seven-speed SMG box with the old-shape M5’s six-speed manual – but with the compromises that were needed to get there. Without the benefit of computer control for the opening and closing of the clutch plates, M division’s engineers couldn’t eliminate axle tramp under hard take-offs.

A look at Cadillac future products

General Motors has green-lighted the development of a large flagship sedan for Cadillac, sources say, part of its plan to position its luxury brand's lineup to take on the German luxury stalwarts in every key sedan segment. The flagship sedan is to be built on a new rear-wheel-drive platform and arrive by 2015. The long-rumored rwd flagship would challenge the BMW 7-series and Mercedes-Benz S-class and is a key to GM's ambitions to expand Cadillac in China.

Toyota teases Muppets Super Bowl spot

Former NFL player and current "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" actor Terry Crews will appear in Toyota's Highlander-focused Super Bowl ad. The automaker released a teaser spot today, referencing the Coen Brothers and featuring the Muppets' famed dilapidated bus, a fanciful tour vehicle in the vein of Ken Kesey's Furthur or the Partridge Family's Mondrian-esque Chevy. (RIP, Dave Madden.) It's safe to assume that some manner of madcap mayhem will ensue upon the arrival of the rest of the Muppet crew, but for now, all we get is a shot of pianist Rowlf buckling himself in sans invitation.